Source
- Alexander Yanai Vol 11 (501-550)
- Reel 33, Track 1, Lesson 4
- Duration: 36 minutes
Synopsis
- This lesson invents absurd and ingenious non-habitual forms of walking, and shows how movements of the upper part of the body change the way we walk. Some of the movements are: walking hunched, with the back bowed forward and the arms hanging, crouching and bending as if rolling a ball with the hand along the floor (as the ball grows smaller, the curve of the back gets larger); putting the arms behind the back and holding each forearm or elbow with the other hand, sliding the elbows to one side and tilting the head to the opposite side with each step. The lesson explores stability and balance in the different configurations, disrupting and refreshing habitual walking. Source: Abraham Mansbach, The Feldenkrais Method: Power of Self -Transformation. Included here with permission from the author.
- Bowling a Ball, Rolling a Wheel while Walking’. This lesson has you bending forward and stepping forward as you roll a ball. You go lower and lower as you roll an imaginary ball that gets smaller and smaller. This action, no matter how small, steadies your weight into your leg/foot as it clarifies hip, knee, ankle connection. The lesson then brings awareness to how tilting ones head to the left or leaning to the left while walking with the hands behind your back that swing to the Right hip affects how your weight lands in your legs. Moshe offers a way [with attention] to bring yourself back to center. The lesson continues with rolling a wheel backward in order to bring R leg forward with R hip back – bringing tailbone back in order to demonstrate how low you can go in bending knees — safely. submitted by BonnieKissam, www.feldenkraisinsarasota.com
Lesson Outline
- Bend forward as you step and roll an imaginary bowling ball.
- Walk upright with arms connected behind the back swinging them to the left while head tilts to the right. And then head left and arms right
- Wheel a wheel backward along right side as you move R hip back and R foot forward
- As right hip back – bring left side of pelvis forward with Left shoulder
- Add bending forward with the head as roll wheel backward off right leg/hip and allow knee to bend down w ease if the tailbone goes back.
- Add: hopping and finish with R leg forward with R hip back [bonniek]
Focus of the teaching
- The overall theme is to find many ways the Right hip can move back with R leg forward not just for walking but bending safely in the knees. The more the tailbone goes back with a rounded back the more easy it is to bend the knees. “Emphasize the tailbone going backward. Then, the entire movement becomes easy in the knees and not only this. It is possible when walking to bend both knees and go down to the floor to wherever you want to. Try and you will see that it is possible to go down as much as you want under the condition that you bend the head. . . not with a straight back.” [bonniek]
Related ATMs
- AY501. Introduction to walking. (Page 3411)
- AY502. Walking and crawling. (Page 3419)
- AY503. Hopping and arms. (Page 3427)
- AY505. Continuation. (Page 3443)
- AY510. Knees – righting. (Page 3475)
- AY512. Fish swimming. (Page 3487)
- AY513. Reptiles. (Page 3495)
- Theme Walking
- Tag Hip-backward
- Tag Protruding-abdomen
- Tag Hopping
- Tag Imagining
- Tag Gait
In-walking:
- AY501 Introduction to walking
- AY502 Walking and crawling
- AY503 Hopping and arms
- AY510 Knees righting
- MM04 Crawling and Walking
- New York Quest – DAY5 – PM2 – Softening the neck affects the whole self: Lifting the head with lapping movements of the mouth and tongue in many different positions
- SF3 – Day 30 – 3 August 1977: Walking and crawling.
Resources
- Add links to external resources that would be of interest to the reader
Share Your Insights (ideas, principles, strategies, experiences, …)
- All the related lessons are a must to explore but I would think this lesson has many unique ideas to enhance pelvic rotation for walking and bending knees safely. Walking with the emphasis on head forward and rolling a ball forward as you step allows gravity to ease ankles and feet and clarifies hip, knee, ankle connection. Then, walking upright w hands behind back, exploring movements in an off balanced way would be great for those who have had [or are working with] a person with head injury or walks off to one side more than the other. Then working with pushing an imaginary wheel backward as you step and move the hip back and look back behind you – also allows the brain to sense the R leg forward with the R hip backward. There also was emphasis on going slowly and being precise in one’s actions – rehearsing his ideas. “Go so slowly that it will be possible to think of all these things because if something else is done, then this is not it. Then, it is not even worth doing.” [bonniek]
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